Dykehouse
Midrange

Anyone who thought that shoegaze was dead and buried or just a pleasant but faded distant memory, needs to reconsider after listening to this excellent and captivating album, dated 2004, the second work of Mike Dykehouse, an American from Michigan, a sensitive and imaginative character, whose intention is to follow, in his own personal and original way, the footsteps and style of Kevin Shields, his idol and, of course, the My Bloody Valentine of which Shields was the brilliant leader.

Entirely recorded in the author's bedroom, where he adeptly juggles singing and playing all the instruments, "Midrange" reveals itself from the very start in its dense and romantic atmosphere, a dreamlike ecstasy reminiscent of the Irish group’s masterpiece at the height of creativity, "Loveless", and the distorted and dissonant sounds of Jesus & Mary Chain, authentic and undisputed forerunners of the genre.

These characteristics are perfectly recognizable in tracks like "Drown Inside of Me", which I feel is the gem of the album, "When You Come", "Chain Smoking", "One more day", and "Signal Crossing", in which Dykehouse recreates the typical wall of aggressive and soft feedbacks, opposing yet complementary, interlocking layers of hypnotic and lysergic guitars with ethereal and dreamy vocals, with bursts of electronics, through a well-measured and skillful use of synths, and with indie/dream pop influences; all perfectly chosen and opportune contaminations that bring to life original, ingenious, and sincere work. The instrumental interludes like "From the Cradle", "Sandy Strip", and "Garden" are splendid, with impalpable and cosmic melodies that serve as perfect binders between the various pieces of the album, and the fabulous ballad "Western Lands", delicate and moving.

"Midrange" is a handcrafted work without ambitious intents, except to pay tribute to an era, clearly successful and professional and, by the end, there remains the satisfaction of having listened to something ecstatic and enveloping, different and out of time, extremely alive and pulsing with freshness and poetry; one cannot help but listen to it again to savor once more the sensation of having the senses wrapped in a warm, serene, and restful embrace. A real surprise!

genre: shoegaze/electronica/indie